Adrian looked back and forth and his ears turned independently of his head. They were all monsters as far as he could care, despite having names and backgrounds and probably not being out for his blood. All he could hope for, as he quietly eavesdropped on his new squad, would be for them all to get in their GEARs, so that he could forget their faces and recognize them as equals. Friendly, non-cannibalistic, and well fed equals. Even then, he would have a lot of callsigns to remember and GEARs to keep an eye on. He raised his hand.

“Captain, will we be splitting into teams now? Or will that sort of planning come after we do our recon?” Adrian did his best to speak loudly and clearly—even if what he considered loud was well removed from most of the others’ expectations. “I’m asking, because I would rather not work overwatch for such a large group on my own.”

"Good question," Blade replied as Adrian spoke up. "You're right that we're operating with quite a big group here, so I'd recommend we split inta teams 'fore we launch. It'll make our tactical movements a lot less awkward, and as y'all say, make it easier for overwatch and cover fire in smaller groups. Plus we'll be better able ta take advantage of cover as we move."

Ashers blinked, surprised at Kensington's apology. She hadn't been annoyed at the wolf at all, just the idea of being delayed. "It's ok dude." She'd replied casually as he passed, not really getting a good look at her fellow wolf before he was gone (403 error on the image). The wolf had seemed super revved about the job and Ashers decided he might be a pretty cool guy to get to know. As such she sat beside him in the briefing.

"Sooo... You get to drop the pedestrians in. Lucky you." Ashers quipped when the briefing was done.

In truth Ashers was nowhere near as laid back as she made herself out to be about this exercise. The fact live munitions weren't to be used meant a fair bit of her role as engineering was inaccessible. Smashing down walls up close was likely not an option either as the last thing she wanted was a genuine blue on blue casualty in what was supposed to be a training exercise. That being said it wasn't all bad. At least Ashers had the opportunity to "get in GEAR" now. Something she had been itching to do since graduating the academy and she would be working alongside her new team. Ashers kept an ear on the swivel for information regarding what squad she would be assigned to once the team was divided.

Raisa found the answer given by Blade to be satisfactory and was about to return to reading over information on her PADD when she was spoken to once again by the tiger. "You don't have to be formal with me. I'm a private like you. No need to call me sir, Oliver is enough. Nice to meet you Raisa Yurievna Biryukova. I'm Oliver Stone." Raisa found herself annoyed for a reason unknown even to her, but she smiled regardless.

"Well met, Oliver. You may call me Raisa." She shook his hand before listening to the suggestion of the only hare in the room.

"Captain, will we be splitting into teams now? Or will that sort of planning come after we do our recon?" Raisa agreed it was a reasonable question. Silverwind took little time in responding.

"Good question, you're right that we're operating with quite a big group here, so I'd recommend we split inta teams 'fore we launch. It'll make our tactical movements a lot less awkward, and as y'all say, make it easier for overwatch and cover fire in smaller groups. Plus we'll be better able ta take advantage of cover as we move." As usual, he spoke with a thick accent that Raisa couldn't quite put her finger on. It seemed like all of the foxes of the 101st had some sort of accent, Raisa with her admitedly light Iyuli accent and Silverwind with his unique way of speech. Sliding her PADD back into her helmet, she readied the straps of the helmet as she made a request.

"If it isn't a problem, I would prefer to have a role that puts an importance on independent actions. My own training and country's doctrine makes that GEAR units of my country fight better when alone, close to the enemy and with little support from allies, mostly due to our country possessing very few GEARs to go around. I specialize in anti-GEAR combat, particularly close range actions and much of my own tactics rely on keeping mobile." Raisa multi-tasked between preparing her helmet and giving her explanations. "Of course, I can shoot from long-ranges just fine, but I would be very appreciative if you took my capabilities, skills and preferences into account, sir." Finishing, she put her helmet on her head and switched on the power on the back.

As she hadn't used her GEAR in a while and her PADD had received a firmware update so it could interface with LDF briefing software and LDF hardware, it required a quick synchronization before use. She turned her head side to side and up and down as the indications on her HUD required before receiving a notification to finish synchronization in her GEAR. All the while, she kept an eye on Silverwind out of respect for a superior.

Shona listened intently as Blade began, her attention shifting between her CO, her PADD’s files and the holoprojector as she occasionally made notes in the margins here and there. The mission didn’t sound too bad, not much different from some of the standard simulator programs – albeit maybe more like two or three programs combined.

Her machine was configured with recon in mind, with its medium-light armour and the new optics package. She hesitated for just a second before she made a note to put herself forward for a scouting role.

She was surprised when a message window popped up on her screen. It was Oliver, the techie tiger she’d spoken to earlier. She smiled, a little flattered at the offer. Keeping one ear on the Q&A session, she quickly tapped out a response. “Sure. Coding was never my strong suit, but I have some experience. My Rapier’s LOS has some new programs that might help too.”

With the many questions being shared around the room, a larger picture was being revealed, and Kradis could envision how the exercise would play out. These recruits are showing a lot of promise, he thought quietly to himself, though things will be different when we face the enemy in a live fire operation. Still, this unit was shaping up to be quite an admirable force, and Kradis was looking forward to fighting alongside these people. With time, they will become hardened soldiers, if they managed to survive long enough.

Utilizing the new information gleaned from Blade's elaboration, Kradis quietened himself and opened his PADD, to change his GEAR's load out slightly. Having laser designators would come in handy, and reduce the chance of friendly fire, so he requested the cluster rockets be switched out for HE Javelin missiles. They had slightly more range and single hit firepower, but the extra sensory suite hardwired into the missiles made them heavier and bulkier. After some discussion with the Arms Master, he learned that only six Javelins could be fitted safely at one time, unless he wanted to remove his mortar tube for a larger ammo count. Kradis declined, and accepted the retrofit as is. With his team mates pointing out targets, he could direct the missiles straight onto GEARs, and take on a more anti GEAR role with his armaments.

Kensington nodded in return and sat down wherever he could find a seat, little did he know Ashers would sit next to him just seconds later. The airman listened in on the briefing and nodded towards the colonel when he was called out to the spotlight during the briefing. When the briefing ended the pilot turned to the voice directed at him and chuckled, his ears twitching. "Ain't much luck in that job, yeh? Atleast we dealin' with the country.. Yah might meet some of the good folks out there... Besides, the real luck is dodging missiles and flying around a charlie foxtrot if I can recall." With that, the wolf stood up with a slight sigh, his heart already beating at a quickened pace in his chest, the pilot himself excited he was about to.get his wings and soar through the sky again.

Turning on his PADD, the wolf looked over at Ashers then down at the device in his hands,displaying his typical smirk until he began speaking again. "Forgot to identify myself, didn't I?" He muttered, shaking his head then holding his right pawish hand to the lady, turning to face her while holding the PADD in his left. "Senior airman Kensington Maxwell, at your side miss. Hope I am just more of your folk's eye to the sky than anything else like... Medevac."

With no further questions forthcoming, Blade excused himself and headed for the hangar. He had no need to change his own armaments, his Harlock's regular weapons fit was more than enough for the tasks at hand, being a mix of anti-armour and mid-range firepower.
Making his way down the stairs and ladders of the Landcruisers' interior, he stepped out into the hangar. The smell of metal, oils and other industrial chemicals was overpowering as always, and he wrinkled his nose at it as he swiftly crossed the metal floor to the GEAR stalls. The maintenance crews were securing the last of their tools, and making the changes to the squad's loadouts as requested, and he exchanged a few quick words with the crew chief, before climbing up the external handholds on his GEAR and swinging himself into the cockpit.
Like most GEARs, the cockpit was snug with little free space. He didn't strap in just yet, as there was still time enough before the mission start. Instead, he powered on the internal electrical systems and ran through the GEARs pre-launch checklist. Since it'd been a few days since he'd last been aboard the machine, it was a worthwhile task to check everything. Of course, given the attention the tech crew paid to things, he didn't expect any problems and was relieved, after the ten minutes he spent working through the list, to find nothing out of order, and several minor issues also taken care of.
Leaning back in the pilots' seat, the vulpine took a few gulps of water from a bottle, and wolfed down a couple of chocolate bars. Tossing the empty bottle down to the crew, he checked his watch and nodded. The others ought to be there shortly, so now was as good a time as any. Buckling his helmet on, he fastened his seat straps with the help of a crewman and then motored the cockpit hatch closed. Initiating the full power-on sequence, he tapped the holographic controls and disconnected the Harlock from external power. Instruments came to life, and an exterior view swum into life in front of him on the inside cover of the hatch, readouts and the HUD coming to life on his helmet visor and around him in his line of sight. The hum of the UHD batteries energising the artificial muscle-system of the GEAR became a background note, and the bay crew directed him out of the stall, and he gave a thumbs-up with the GEARs hand as he followed the directions toward the front of the bay, where he waited for the others close to the front of the bay.

(hurray for medication, this post is all jacked up!)
Mike got up as blade finished answering questions, the CO excusing himself to get ready for the training op. stretching with a groan, mike slowly walked to the gear bay, twisting, and popping joints as he went, as he would be cramped in Prowlers cockpit soon enough, and space would become a luxurious memory. unfortunately, even his slow walking eventually made way to the cavernous Gear bay, and mike walked over to the techs preparing prowler for its upcoming deployment.

briefly introducing himself and shaking hands with the techs within reach, he climbed into the less then spacious interior and began a pre-op check, looking over the systems as he waited for the others. as the system check rattled away, he slid magazines into corresponding pouches on his uniform, the last one for the rifle and pistol, going into their perspective magazine wells. finally the checks came to his favorite part, the screen chiming and giving a keystroke option Y/N.

"yes" mike said tapping the panel, activating manual testing of optical camo. he spent a moment cycling through the selections before touching the four color wheels and sending them on a mad spin, chuckling as he did.
"nawlin to gearbay 7, i'm checking camo, how's it look" he asked, using the onboard mic, smirking as he watched the Gear rapidly switch through riots of colors without rhyme or reason.

"uh, yeah its doing...something" a younger tech said before the lead tech grabbed his radio. "real smooth hotshot, keep doing that and it'll be stuck on something stupid, like lilac and daffodil" he mumbled as mike laughed and set it to lime green and caution orange. slightly for safety, more for the enjoyment of 'why not'.

"prowler is ready for deployment" mike called as he cycled through his weapons list, setting up ammo counters, and double checking the locations of his Gears equipment. "loaded to provide mid to long range support, as well as HVT neutralization."

Shona had always found something about a pre-deployment GEAR bay exciting, and the feeling was only amplified now that’s he knew there was more than a testing range waiting for outside. Upon stepping onto the launch deck she quickly made her way over to the matte grey and brown form of her Rapier.

The software tech was a young stoat girl called Eines, one of the regulars from Ourven Base transferred to the Claw along with her and her machine, and she spent a moment catching up and learning the names of her new tech crew.

“No nick you want us to stencil on last-minute?”

“Nah, I haven’t really done much to earn one yet.” Shona replied as she lowered her helmet into place.

“Sure you have!” Eines said, grinning from above her PADD’s screen. “I can give them a few from Ourven…”

Shona responded by tossing her half-filled water bottle at her. “Shush, you. If I wake up to find my machine re-christened “Ears” I’m going to put its fist through a bulkhead.” She said with a grin, turning to hoist herself up the side of her mech.

One of the advantages of being so short, she supposed, was that she had a little more elbow and head room inside the cramped cockpit. She set about powering the GEAR up, the usual system checks as familiar to her by now as the fur on her paw (some of the less glamorous stories she had from the test range involved shutting down and re-starting buggy machines over and over, for hours). As the cockpit cover swung down, sealing her inside the hologram-lit compartment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. This, right here, was her space, her element. As the rest of the unit started to detach from their umbilicals and call in, she set her jaw and pushed her machine forward.

“Bell and M227, ready to go.” She reported over the radio, using her Rapier’s serial number. She winced slightly. I really do need a callsign… “We’re kitted out light and fast, and we have good eyes – I can scout out front."

Without hesitation, Kradis made his way to the GEAR Bay, eager to get back into his machine. After his previous deployment, it had been a good eight months since he'd been grounded, with nothing but simulations and the firing range to keep Kradis sharp. With almost a predator-like drive, he itched to fight real targets, and continue his crusade. He exited the corridor, and was greeted by the loud noises and frenzied movement of an entire ship of technicians just before a mission deployment. It was good to be hunting again.

"Officer Topha, sir?" A techie approached, a young squirrel wearing overalls and welding goggles, who walked alongside Kradis and appeared somewhat nervous, "There seems to be a problem: Your GEAR isn't compatible with the latest LAS-DES retrofits, so you're going to rely on the other GEARS for Javelin Fire Control. I didn't think it was too big of a problem, since you're an artillery specialization anyway..."

Kradis smiled at the corner of his mouth, and continued to look ahead, stopping in front of Gammorah and looking up. "No, you did excellent, thank you for the assistance. She's an old machine, isn't she?"

"I think the term is outdated, sir. Though that load capacity is insane, you just don't see that with bipedal combat GEARs these days. Where'd you get it?"

Kradis climbed into his GEAR, and took one last look at the techie, winking as he began to close the cockpit. "Sorry, my friend, that's classified."

"Oh really?" The techie turned and started to walk away, and waved over his shoulder, shouting jokingly. "Well, you can find someone else to put the cluster rockets back on, and you can FORGET about those stabilizer enhancements, which you ar-" The cockpit locked itself shut, drowning out his complaints and most of the noise of the hangar, and Kradis chuckled, before booting up Gammorah's L/OS. Since there were little in the way of updates available for this particular make of operating system, it didn't have flashy things as high tech security encryption or the like. In fact, you still need a password to get full access. The plus side was that it booted up quickly, and was highly adaptable.

'Password required for full system access'. Kradis read the holographic print, and spoke softly. "Cyrillic Cliff Steppes". They were words that held a lot of meaning, and he could never forget. The system booted up fully, and a text prompt, 'Welcome back, Officer Kradis Topha'. With that, full access was achieved, and Kradis ran his pre flight checks carefully. With the all clear from his readouts and the techie's thumbs up. he was ready for combat, and the safety clamps were released. Gammorah stood taller than most, much like Kradis himself, and it was bulkier too. Slow and precise, it could carry a lot of firepower.

"Officer Kradis Topha, piloting the Gammorah, ready for deployment!"

"Michelete will be the 2IC, as she's the only person other than me here who's got any operational experience ta call on."
Myrina's ears shuddered as they caught her name on the Colonel's lips. Her, 2IC? The weight of responsibility started to press down on her shoulders and her fingers tapped together behind her back. It was true, she had led others in the militia, however now she was under the scrutiny of a new commander. If she was to prove her use in a true LDF scenario, she would have to call on years of experience and ensure she didn't mess up. Then again, this was only a simulation, she reminded herself. A first-evaluation of the Colonel's new team. Surely a few, if not more of them would slip up here and there. Myrina let out a deep breath and calmed her fidgeting.

As the rest of the pilots filed out of the room to get to the hangar, Myrina followed suit, clutching her helmet in the crook of her arm. The GEAR bay was vast, teeming with technicians running back and forth between the machines that silently awaited their activation. Her Warlock was plugged into the wall to her left, standing tall like a sleepy golem over the crew that attended it. Myrina approached, holding up a hand in greeting. At her approach, the lead tech momentarily paused, throwing up a salute until it was returned.
"Warrant Officer Michelete? She's all ready for you, Ma'am," the feline said, nodding to the GEAR. "Standard loadout, all systems show green. Climb on in when you're ready."
"Thanks- Patterson," Myrina replied, referencing the name patch on the tech's coveralls. Hearing her name caused the cat to smile and her face reddened.

Inside the GEAR, Myrina punched the keypad in front of her, and the screens around her blinked to life. Diagnostics scuttled around before the cameras brought up the hangar on the outside to Myrina's sight. With her helmet on, her HUD was superimposed against the camera's images. A quick runthrough affirmed Patterson's checklist was in order, and tinkering with the control yokes told her her controls and weapons were functioning properly.

"Warrant Officer Myrina Michelete, Warlock. Ready for launch." Her tone belied the small pang of nervousness he felt in her gut, but she waved it aside, reminding herself that she wouldn't let the Colonel down in choosing her.

Adrian was relieved to know that the squad would be broken into groups, but quickly confused when the briefing ended with little mention as to exactly who would be in which team. The Captain knows what he’s doing…probably. I just have to trust him, hard as it may be. According to his habits, Adrian stuck to the edges of the group as he made his way to the hangar and found his GEAR.

Adrian stared up at the L-68, drumming his fingers against the sides of his helmet. The machine stood dead still in its bay while the techs sat by and watched. They passed the hare a few compliments about his great, “new,” GEAR, but mostly kept to their checklists, content to shake hands and be sure nothing had gone unnoticed. The mechanics of his old squad insisted upon giving the machine a fresh coat of paint and it made the GEAR look brand new on the outside. He had grown so used to the dings and scrapes along the sharper features of his mostly rounded machine that to see them all covered up in camouflage reminded him more of a toy than it did of a weapon.

“You want a stepladder or somethin’..?” The nearby chief asked as Adrian walked over to the L-68’s feet. Adrian’s ear turned to catch the sound as he put his helmet on.

“Nah,” was all the reply he gave. Even with all the things strapped to his harness and hanging from his belt, he leapt impressively high and latched onto a pair of anchors meant for tying down cargo and scaled the GEAR from its thigh up to the torso. “Thanks for the offer though.” He lifted the hatch built into the top of the torso and slid inside, securing his loose belongings around him before sinking into the pilot’s seat and pulling the hatch closed. A red safety light illuminated a fingerprint scanner. Adrian pulled off one of his gloves and pressed his hand up against it and after a few seconds, the GEAR powered up, bathing the interior with the combined illumination of the dashboard’s backlights and monitors.

The systems ran their own checks as Adrian put his glove back on and very briefly tested the GEAR’s motor functions. “Alright,” he mumbled and pulled the cockpit’s restraints into place. “Kelsea here, in the L-six-eight. I’ve been cleared.”

Kensington watched the one he conversed with walk off then nodded to himself, turning and following the group towards the hangers. At some point he turned a different direction and traveled upward to where his helicopter had landed, the rotors still spinning at a sluggish pace despite the engine being off. To his right he saw the maintenance crew and to his left he spotted a stockpile of modifications specifically for his helicopter that could turn it from support to attack in any given moment.

The approach to the helicopter was one that made his heart race with excitement, the airman could hear nothing except each beat and each step he took closer towards the vehicle that would be his to control. Once he was beside the helicopter, the wolf slowly drew his finger across the metal that was cold in some areas and warm in the other. He did it for a good few minutes as he circled around the vehicle and ducked under the tail before he ended up back at the entry hatch where he turned to face one of the crew members displaying a smile to the airman. He could only give a nod and a nervous smile in return, nodding to the serviceman.

"Liking her?" The man who looked to be some sort of canine asked, his arms crossed and a headband wrapped around his head.

Kensington nodded a second time and looked up at the propellers, his tail blissfully swaying left to right as he watched the blades slowly rotate above their heads. "Yeah.. Looks good to run, yeh?"

"Of course. Not a Ladybug but it'll get the job done. Well, senior airman, your wings are ready to take flight. Make sure she comes back to the nest, okay?" With that, Kensington was given a helmet that was issued to almost every airman. His unlike the typical hand-me-downs was actually new with barely any scratches.

I guess special squad comes with special privileges. The senior airman thought, giving the crew member a slight bow before climbing into the helicopter and moving past the row of seats to where his seat will be, the pilot's seat.

The interior was familiar to the senior airman and the smell was also a friend of his. Once in his seat he took in his surroundings for a long minute, strapping himself in and looking over the switches before flicking the main engine on, the helicopter humming as it came to life. Seconds later the propellers came to life and every gauge began their calculations for the pilot. It took a good thirty seconds until he was ready but still on the helicopter pad, the airman himself finally pulling his helmet on and fastening it to his head before speaking into his headset. "This be air support, standin' by for orders."

Silverwind listened to the pilots check in one-by-one, turning the Harlock to watch as their GEARs came to life and moved out of their holding stalls and formed up. Kensington chimed in as well, and he clicked his mike in response.
"Okay, team. Good job. Ken, take off and set up a holding pattern while we deploy. Everyone else, here's the skinny - Warlock, take Bell, Stone and Kelsea as your scouting team. Maxwell, position yourself so you're able to relay comms between the recon team and the main unit, as well as providing tactical fire support if necessary, and targeting for Kradis or any of the rest of us for long-range support to cover the recon units' retreat. Everyone who ain't in the recon unit is wi' me. Our job will be to move up behind the recon team and spread out to provide flanking cover at a medium distance, and to secure the rear area of the battlefield, and prevent them from bein' outmanoeuvred. First things first, we gotta move away from the ship. On the double, move out. Positions' updated on yer L/OS HUD"
Blade spun on his foot-wheels, and thumped down the ramp at the head of the bay, moving into the outside with a cloud of dust at his heel. The sun was low in the sky as the afternoon slid into evening. The grassy plains and gently rolling terrain was dream-like with its' sea of waving stalks and bushes, broken by strands of spread-out plains trees, and the occasional rocky outcrop.
The assembly point for the mission was around twenty miles from the Claw, at the mouth of a valley that began as a shallow, ancient riverbed on the plains, widening out and dropping steeply as it approached the area of rocky bluffs and low hills that the simulated 'base' resided in.

One of the many differences between how Iyulian GEAR pilots and Landren GEAR pilots was immediately evident as Raisa dashed down the hallway. Unlike a few of her comrades who almost leisurely strode down to the hangar, Raisa broke into a brisk jog immediately after leaving the briefing room, as per Iyuli military tradition, which was an effort made long ago in an attempt to cut the time between briefings and deployments to as little as possible. While it left her somewhat winded when she climbed into the cockpit of her state-of-the-art GEAR, she was definitely one of the first to arrive. As she awaited clearance from the technicians to activate the machine, she decided to compare her comrade's machines to her own Sanya. Lithe in form and with an almost vulpine-esque head, the streamlined body of the Flanker formed a deep contrast to the other machines, which looked decidedly more rugged, with the exception of the Saxknot, which looked particularly smooth and strangely bat-like. After a moment of waiting, a technician below her gave her a gesture of confirmation and she sat back in her seat. With a snapping noise, a set of wires connected from the upper part of her seat into her helmet and the familiar loading circle appeared as the helmet and thus her PADD connected to the GEARs own systems.

After finishing the loading process, it promptly asked her to finish synchronization. Raising her left hand, as demanded, she touched each of her fingers to her thumb and then made a fist before doing the same with the right hand. All good. Legs were controlled via scanning surfaces on the bottom of the cockpit, so all she had to do was stretch her legs as much as she could and then make a position similar to kneeling in order for the machine to judge the length of her own legs. Then, she had to move her head around; from side to side, rolling on her neck, looking up and down and turning from left to right with the aid of her back, which caused the machine's own head to move around, and the view on the HUD to change. The only step after this was to say a series of different sounds in order to facilitate recognition of voice commands, no matter the speed at which they were spoken or the intonation. Finally, the synchronization instructions gave way to the normal HUD, giving the exact same view as the 'eyes' of the GEAR would see.

At the end of the day, all this synchronization sure does make the movements of the Flanker look very realistic, but, boy, does it make using him tiring...Raisa quietly belly-ached to herself. Indeed, the near-exact synchronization of the pilot's movements with the Flanker's own body definitely made for extremely organic movement, especially the head movement, something that many other GEARs still lacked, mostly due to the inherent fatigue on the pilot. Thankfully, if the pilot grew too tired, the Flanker could be switched to traditional control methods, but that would be taking a large chunk of the machine's capability away from it; with the ease of movement allowing for excellent close-combat capability. Anyway, it was smooth sailing after synchronization, with most of the checks being done by the L/OS and any problems immediately being reported to the pilot. In all of the Flanker's testing, use with Iyuli and her own training in the machine, the checks had never had a problem and she left a good amount of confidence in it. As it finished the checks, the L/OS automatically disconnected from external power and did a two second check of traditional fallback instruments.

With a chime of confirmation, the systems moved onto starting up the artificial muscle-system and the sound dampeners meant to silence the sound of the UHD batteries powered on to remove the sound. For pilots just transferring into the Flanker, this usually made them wonder if the machine was actually on, as there was little to no noise of the machine audible from within the cockpit. In her father's own words when speaking at the reveal of the machine, it 'makes you feel as if the GEAR is an extension of your very body'. Eerie. Raisa remarked as she thought back on the words. Suddenly, her thoughts were removed from the subject by the sound of her system requesting for a final confirmation, a prompt appearing in the center of her HUD.

It is necessary to answer the following question to start FLANKER
Do you agree to make true biological synchronization with FLANKER?
YES/NO

With a sigh, Raisa hit 'YES' and she gritted her teeth as she waited for the inevitable sharp pain that would go into the back of her neck, where a needle of the machine would take a blood sample from her and inject nanomachines that could allow the Flanker to further synchronize with her body. As the needle pierced her skin, she thought back to the particularly grandiose presentation her father gave a few months ago, when, thanks to synchronization with the GEAR on display, it broke into the exact same movements as her father upon the mention of synchronization, 'This true biological synchronization; it is true melding of organism and machine, life and death, white and black. After TBS, every single breath, movement and heartbeat is also felt by the GEAR. Everything felt by the GEAR is felt by the pilot. This... is the future.' he had once said, as the Flanker broke out of its glass display case and mimicked the paces of the man, its chest moving in response to his own breaths, to the awe of the audience. Unknown to them, he actually had a set of scanners in his pants to make up for him not being in the cockpit, but otherwise the display was very much a real demonstration of Flanker's abilities. After a minute, the needle removed itself from her neck and a sort of liquid bandage was sprayed onto her neck.

With the TBS finished, her identity was confirmed and the GEAR was allowed to move. Her first gesture was to check for the weapon she would use on the mission; an Avto-30 assault rifle that she would keep for medium to long range combat in case it was needed. Once she had confirmed it was there, she began to walk. With movement of her own legs, the GEAR naturally moved forward, in a fashion similar to her own strides when out of the machine. She arrived at the door and spoke over comms to the rest of her group. "Private Biryukova reporting. Launch preparations complete. Standing by for deployment." Raisa was quickly responded to by the team's leader.

"Okay, team. Good job. Ken, take off and set up a holding pattern while we deploy. Everyone else, here's the skinny - Warlock, take Bell, Stone and Kelsea as your scouting team. Maxwell, position yourself so you're able to relay comms between the recon team and the main unit, as well as providing tactical fire support if necessary, and targeting for Kradis or any of the rest of us for long-range support to cover the recon units' retreat. Everyone who ain't in the recon unit is wi' me. Our job will be to move up behind the recon team and spread out to provide flanking cover at a medium distance, and to secure the rear area of the battlefield, and prevent them from bein' outmaneuvered. First things first, we gotta move away from the ship. On the double, move out. Positions' updated on yer L/OS HUD." Nodding, and with the machine doing the same movement, she moved out onto the lush countryside landscape. Forthwith, Raisa was captivated by the dreamy landscape, but she decided to keep it as an afterthought as she prepared to follow Blade. As the GEAR pilot awaited and looked over the landscape, she found herself taking a deep breath, a futile response to the gorgeous area as she was in the cockpit of a machine, but 'Sanya' emulated the movement nonetheless.

Maneuvering into position in front of Colonel Blade, Kradis stood at attention in front of him with his comrades, listening to his orders. It was safe to assume that Gammorah would travel towards the back of the team, away from the direct line of fire, one due to possibly being the slowest, and two to provide the necessary artillery support. As they piled out of the hangar bay, Kradis opened comm links to the recon team and Kensington. "This is Gammorah. Requesting permission to sync laser designator data with javelin fire control, over. And good hunting to the rest of you."

Kradis had a clear game plan of how he would act: First, he would use the javelins to cover the advance team, primarily focusing on hardened MG nests and slow moving GEARs, if any. Once they were all spent, he would focus his mortar fire on any heavy weapon infantry squads as fire for effect, and then proceed to re-join the main bulk of the squad in clean up. Hopefully, this simulation will go smoothly. and he could get a feel for how the unit acted together. For now, most of the squad seemed capable, at best. Not unskilled, but nothing special either. Kradis activated his MWM, and began to assess the current area.

"On the double, move out. Positions' updated on yer L/OS HUD"

"aye sir" mike said as he shrugged in his harness, Prowler copying it as it lurched into a jog, leaping out the baydoors. landing in a cloud of dust, it blasted out at a dead sprint, rifle clutched in front of it, carried as if it where an axe. "prowler is moving to rally point alpha" he growled as he watched others with their wheels and tracks pass him with grace, scowling at them from behind the various cameras. he took comfort in knowing that without them he was lighter, and had more stability in hand to hand combat, but still frowned at his slightly bumpy ride. with not much else to do, he set up the motion scanner as he contemplated why he, a recon specialist, was placed in the mixed group. face palming mike groaned as he watched his neon arm pass a camera. "right, that might do it" he said under his breath as he set the camo to auto, the colors setting to the most common ambient comparisons.

Returning to his previous musings he came to the conclusion that there where a large group of recons and indirect gears less suited for direct combat, and that A. he drew a short straw, and B. Blade thought Prowler could handle a more up-close and personal engagement. at that thought mike's face split into predators grin, top brass would be watching, top brass that wanted to see them fail. He would follow blade, fulfill his orders, be a good soldier, but if the brass wanted him to become part of their pet project, they obviously hadn't read his file. as mike and prowler ran, he thought about the upcoming engagement, training or not, he would make sure he carried his weight, and made the enemy work to take him down.
"brass will be watching this, ought to be...fun" mike said, the grin tingeing his voice with mischief.

As Oliver waited for Shona's response he had introduced himself properly to the female corsac fox next to him. His initial flirt with the girl did seem to have catched her off guard and drove off a bit. None the less after introducing himself she did shake his hand and turned her attention towards the briefing. Raisa did not seem to be the kind of girl who'd be interested in anything else except her job. As the tiger was thinking about how to get her to lighten up a bit his PADD blinked that there was a new message.

It was a response of the bat girl. She had read his question and messeged the tiger right back. Oliver was happy that Shona was interested in teaming up with him on this project. The tiger always liked interacting with people on many different fronts. He was already looking forward to working with Shona and was curious to what programs the bat was referring too. Oliver had some ideas about how to build it and what to share and stuff but input from someone else would always make things better and makes working much more fun. For now however Oliver had to focus on the rest of the briefing.

As colonel Blade finished up his briefing Oliver walked towards the GEAR deck. As he entered the tiger laid his eyes upon the Trius Heavy Industry S-Series Saxknot. The truth was that Oliver had mostly piloted training GEARS and only had a few hours of experience in this model. As he stood in front of the majestic machine he was slightly intimidated. This time it was still a simulation but the next time shit might be for real. He'd better make sure to get his act together. His teammates will rely on him doing his job properly in the field after all. For a moment he stared at GEAR and smiled in excitement. It was time to push his limits.

Just before the tiger was about to enter his vehicle he turned towards the technician who was finishing the last calibrations on Saxknot. "Yo Alexi, did you do that requested change?"Said the tiger with a grinn. A large, grumphy looking bear looked up from his work and nodded. "I not sure why you wanted to have gear with unrestricted computer access but none of my business. Just keep your end of deal, boy". Oliver smiled and raised his thumb as he climbed into his GEAR. "Don't worry bro, the vodka will be yours after this training exercise".

Oliver closed his cockpit and plugged in his PADD. This was going to be the point where he would violate some of the LDF regulations. With one press on the button the L/OS of the GEAR started to boot but halted with the question "Select boot device". With a few voice commands the GEAR's computer started to load software from his PADD. Alexi had made sure for him that certain security features where removed allowing Oliver to run custom software on his GEAR which is a direct violation of LDF regulations. As Oliver's own version of L/OS loaded he started to calibrate the controls of his GEAR. He had run this version on several training models during his GEAR pilot course but never on the new S-Series. As several checks where completed Oliver maneuvered his GEAR towards the launch point. The first few steps where a little awkward and unbalanced and made him look a bit like a rookie doing his first run in a GEAR. But after a few steps the software adapted and the Saxknot started to move more fluently.
As the controls have come online, Oliver booted up the other systems. Weaponsystems...check, communication...check, Electronic warfare/codecracking module...check. All systems up and running. Oliver opened up the comlink and spoke "This is private Oliver Stone, ready for action"

As the tiger moved his GEAR out of the hangar deck the orders of the colonel came through the radio. " Warlock, take Bell, Stone and Kelsea as your scouting team" Immidiatly Oliver switched his main commlink for communication with his teammates. "Hey guys, Oliver here. Looks like the fun is starting soon" Said Oliver wich a cheerfull voice through the commlink.

Okay, team. Good job. Ken, take off and set up a holding pattern while we deploy. Everyone else, here's the skinny - Warlock, take Bell, Stone and Kelsea as your scouting team. Maxwell, position yourself so you're able to relay comms between the recon team and the main unit, as well as providing tactical fire support if necessary, and targeting for Kradis or any of the rest of us for long-range support to cover the recon units' retreat. Everyone who ain't in the recon unit is wi' me. Our job will be to move up behind the recon team and spread out to provide flanking cover at a medium distance, and to secure the rear area of the battlefield, and prevent them from bein' outmanoeuvred. First things first, we gotta move away from the ship. On the double, move out.

.

"Understood!" Shona replied over the coms, checking the IFF tags on her HUD to mark out her teammates in the recon group as the first machines in the formation moved out. The bright sun and gentle green plains filled the cockpit with light, enough for Shona to bump down the display gamma a little. She did her best to ignore the picturesque scenery and focus on scanning for contacts, checking the data coming in from her sensors and trying to keep her nerves under control. She succeeded, mostly, a substantial adrenalin rush helping take the edge off her worries.

A new com channel popped into being on her HUD - Oliver had set up a dedicated line for the recon team. Good idea. Shona tapped in. "Bell to Oliver, scout group, roger that. Want me to set up a telemetry-sharing channel and link us in?" Her Rapier's computers were faster than most of the rest of the unit's, and this was the sort of thing its designers had in mind when they layed down the specs.